


Paris Holds The Key (To Your Heart)

by the-canary (siruru)



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Denial of Feelings, Domestic Fluff, F/M, French Revolution, Friends to Lovers, Love Confessions, Mutant Reader, Mutual Pining, Not Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Compliant, Post-Black Panther (2018), Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Post-Mission, Reader-Insert, Tourism, Travel, Unresolved Emotional Tension, Unresolved Romantic Tension, podcast references
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-09
Updated: 2019-04-09
Packaged: 2020-01-07 10:59:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,361
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18409259
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/siruru/pseuds/the-canary
Summary: An impromptu trip leads to something else.





	Paris Holds The Key (To Your Heart)

**Author's Note:**

> this is for @writingsoftheloser writing challenge. This went from focusing one place to both Paris and Versailles, so I hope I can do them some justice. Big thanks and love to @redgillan for her help. 
> 
> Prompt: French Revolution 
> 
> Feedback is always appreciated.

It’s weird when Bucky first settles in with the new version of the Avengers, there are still tell-tale things that make him feel out of place compared to all the other new superheroes and their own stories. So, it takes him a bit longer to get used to everything – he wakes earlier (when he sleeps at all) to take his time in the gym and get breakfast.

It’s quite, and sometimes he gets to run with Steve and others –much to his frustration but delight– is make breakfast with Sam. However, as the world settles in once more and the Avengers reconnect with the newly formed S.H.I.E.L.D to tackle on the rest of the world, there are more people coming in and out of the compound.

It takes Bucky a good while to get used to everything, sometimes he wakes up even earlier and it’s one of those nights when he first hears it.

[This week’s episode is brought to you by…](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.revolutionspodcast.com%2F&t=YmUwMjI0OThmZjg3N2VkY2Q2ZDBlMWMyZWZjMzUzY2I2NWRmYzk5NCxCZDFmZXl3eQ%3D%3D&b=t%3ARX4SnYt_TIYMwvxNWhVbfA&p=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-canary.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F184043905556%2Fparis-holds-the-key-to-your-heart-bb&m=1)

* * *

“Are you sure this is a good idea, Buck?” you frown as he gives you a mischievous sort of grin, though it isn’t reaching his eyes. You are fully aware that the last mission in what used to be Sokovia was hell for him, for both of you actually but you weren’t the former (unwilling, of course) HYDRA agent that had seen files on the kids they had held like Wanda and her brother once.

Some time ago, he would have gone back to the quinjet in silence, strapped in and hung in the darkness of his room for days – you weren’t sure why but this wasn’t that type of mission or he was being very good at hiding it from you, which he wasn’t.

“I had plans,” he remarks slowly but surely as he stares at the ground. All pretenses falling at your patience, though it had taken time for you to get this far compared to the annoyance you had to meet back in one of the kitchenettes of the Compound, “Got a week free, outside of the whole end of the world deal.”

“Where did you plan on going?”

“France,” he answers back and it makes you pause.  _Why did he want to go there of all places?_

There are a lot of things you want to ask, but Bucky will stay an enigma until he’s ready, so instead, you smile and pat his right hand. It causes him to look at you with a timid smile.

“Well, let’s get you there, old man,” you smile and Bucky smiles softly.

He doesn’t tell you until you are halfway there that he had gotten the break for the both of you, much to your surprise and confusion.

* * *

“ _What are you listening to?” he finally decides to ask a month in of watching the nameless agent as you sit on one of the high chairs. A book and writing set in front of her. The voice of the man is clear as talks about his historical and social facts about the subject._

_“Oh, Sgt. Barnes,” you exclaim a little flustered before hitting pause on the broadcast, it’s the only thing that comes close to what he thinks it is, “I’m listening to a podcast called Revolutions.”_

_“Podcast?” the word sounds strange on the tip of his tongue, though he is sure he had heard Steve and Sam throw it around when it came to something with ‘calming meditation’ and how Steve simply couldn’t get into it, “About war?”_

_  
You hum, trying to figure out how to explain it, “Sort of, but not really. More of what lead up to it. Historical, cultural, economic stuff like that.”_

_Blue eyes keep watch on you, as you swear you’re trying not to fumble right then and there, “I could start it from the beginning if you want?”_

_“That would be nice,” is all he says, as he takes a seat across from you._

_And that’s how you Bucky Barnes came into your life._

* * *

The first morning you are confused with what you are supposed to do with your free time. For all your love of anything historical, you didn’t –due to your chosen career path– really have time to explore the country you were sent to on missions. It was usually the mission followed by immediate extraction and maybe, Bucky knew that.

However, he wasn’t in his room when you knocked early in the morning. Thus, you end up walking around the area where your hotel room is situated. [Hotel François ](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fthe-paris-hotel.com%2Fen%2F&t=ZTdhODdkMjAwMjVkOWQ2NDdiYzRlN2E2YzNhNGYzMzE2MzFjOTY0ZSxCZDFmZXl3eQ%3D%3D&b=t%3ARX4SnYt_TIYMwvxNWhVbfA&p=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-canary.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F184043905556%2Fparis-holds-the-key-to-your-heart-bb&m=1)was near the central attractions of the city, but near a bit more secluded area near a small park. In your walk (because you totally aren’t checking out the whole parameter), that’s where you find Bucky – sitting down and taking pictures of the birds surrounding him.

“Bucky,” you want to laugh at the sight of him with so many birds at he throws food from the clear bag at them, “What are you doing?”

He grins before taking another picture and looking up at you. He had probably already known that you were near him. Bucky presses the screen on his phone before responding, “Taking in the familiar sights while getting us some breakfast.”

Bucky motions to the paper bag filled with an assortment of bread alongside two coffee cups before patting telling you to sit next to him as well. You do so and take the cup with your usual order plastered on the white paper cup. You give him a grateful smile, as he goes back to feeding the birds.

“What exactly are you planning for this trip anyway?” you can’t help but ask, as blue eyes meet yours. He seems a bit more bashful than usual for a second.

“‘S was more for you than for me, doll,” he explains as your eyes widen with shock, “And easy break and I know how you always talk about visiting.”

“Bucky,” you feel like your voice is about to crack any moment while staring at his sparkling blue eyes that he thought this much for someone like you, “Seriously?”

“As a heart attack,” he answers back in one of the ways that Peters has taught him how, which causes you to laugh before he goes back to taking pictures of the birds.

“Why are you taking pictures of the birds anyhow?” you question after going halfway through your pastry. Bucky lets out a chuckle before showing you his phone as you see who he has been messaging – Sam and Clint.

_“I didn’t know you were in Paris too.”_

You can’t help the chuckle snort that leaves your mouth at the what he has written and while for now, you decide to simply walk around and take in the sights – you have to admit it is a calm and fun morning with Bucky at your side.

* * *

_“Why are you so interested in revolutions from centuries ago?” Bucky asks, though the revolution that they podcast seems to be focused on as of recently, it closer to when he was born and went on when he was young, but even then that had been more than 100 years ago._

_“Circumstance,” you answer back, looking up from your book about a certain Mexican outlaw, “I wasn’t really in a position to learn about all these things until much later. There’s always something new I wanna learn about.”_

_Bucky nods, understanding more than you would ever know, before pressing play on the newest episode once more._

* * *

Bucky isn’t really surprised by your first choice to visit the following day. It seemed like the biggest tourists attraction in the whole city, aside from a certain Tower but you haven’t said anything about going there.

He watches from a little way back as you jump from room to room, reading and looking into all the details of the paintings in front of you, though your eyes tend to linger a little more on paintings from a certain area.

“James,” you state because you are sure his nickname might draw some sort of unneeded attention, “Come look at [this ](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.louvre.fr%2Fen%2Fmediaimages%2Fle-28-juillet-la-liberte-guidant-le-peuple-28-juillet-1830-delacroix-eugene&t=YjNkOThhZGViMDFkYmFhYTIzYWQ4YzY4NWY5MGRmMjJjM2E3NWRkMyxCZDFmZXl3eQ%3D%3D&b=t%3ARX4SnYt_TIYMwvxNWhVbfA&p=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-canary.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F184043905556%2Fparis-holds-the-key-to-your-heart-bb&m=1)one!”

However, looking at the bright smile on your face with those sparkling eyes, Bucky is sure he had the best seat in the building to see something beautiful right in front of him – if only he could tell you that to your face.

* * *

By now, Bucky is aware that you cling and dig to anything that gets your immediate interest. You go from listening to Revolutions to the creator’s older podcast about Ancient Rome, though he finds you falling asleep from time to time – you had even bought his book and would’ve met him if it hadn’t been for a last minute mission.  

However, there was always one specific part of the podcast that he realized you always went to, regardless of how long ago it had ended. He finds himself asking that question one night, as the podcast moves forward once more talking about Lafayette.

“Didn’t know actually,” you answer with shrug but a light smile on your face, “It just reminds me that there people, besides us, struggling for all this…even if it was centuries ago.”

“You sound like a romantic, doll,” he can’t help but remark, which causes you to let out a soft but awkward laugh.

“I guess I am,” you answer back while touching the back of the spine of the book you were just reading, “But, I think you have to be in this line of work, even just a little.”

You grin at him before calling it a good night, and Bucky swears his heart skips at that moment.

* * *

The week quickly passes you by and between “holding hands not to get lost” and an _accidental picnic_  by the river near the [Parc des Buttes Chaumont](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FParc_des_Buttes_Chaumont&t=MjU2MjMzZmY0YmJmZWE3OTgxNzRjODkyMGZlZjRjOWUyZTk0MTVjZixCZDFmZXl3eQ%3D%3D&b=t%3ARX4SnYt_TIYMwvxNWhVbfA&p=http%3A%2F%2Fthe-canary.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F184043905556%2Fparis-holds-the-key-to-your-heart-bb&m=1), you aren’t sure how you are supposed to feel about the whole trip. At first, you had thought this whole trip had been about Bucky and he wanted to so in a country he hadn’t seen since the wartime, but everything that he seemed to be up seemed do be out of your dream bucket list.

And while, Bucky was a good friend, you weren’t sure if you were just overthinking the whole situation or if he really was feeling something close to what you had been feeling for over a year now.

There really wasn’t one way to test it out, Bucky was a closed chest and he was even harder to read so instead of letting it bother you more than it should. You decided to ignore it the easier way you knew how.

“Bucky,” you ask him in the early evening, the day before you are supposed to be leaving, “Let’s go get a drink.”

“Anything you want, doll, ” he laughs, though you swear that his eyes linger a bit too long on the dress that you still had from the one mission before this one with Bucky.

However, you remember less from the night than he does as the smell of flowers and fennel along with Bucky’s face when he first takes a sip of the drink are the only real things that pop up in your mind.

You don’t quite remember the magnet ( _I <3 Pari_s) you had placed on Bucky’s arm before he had returned to his own room, or how he kissed you softly on the forehead before you passed out completely.   

You didn’t know, but Bucky felt just the same as you did for him.

* * *

_“So, who’s your favorite historical figure?’_

_“Wouldn’t you like to know?”_

* * *

Despite the minor headache and complaining that you due to get up so early, Bucky has one final stop that he wants to show before getting back to New York. You grab your backpack with a groan and follow out of the hotel, a few blocks down and into a small bus with a light overcast as you slowly make it out of the city.

“Where exactly are we going?” you can’t help but ask 30 minutes into the drive, as the terrain has clearly shifted into something else completely different from the city of lights. However, Bucky just shakes his head and keeps looking out the window, trying to keep his own nerves in check.

“Bucky,” you gasp out as you stare at the familiar golden gate that leads to the much larger gardenscape and building as a whole. Yes, you had always talked about going to Versailles but it always seemed like a pipe dream due to all the work you always seemed to have.

Bucky had heard you talk about it from time to time. He had even sat you watching Marie Antoinette with you, but this whole trip was something completely different and that’s when you knew.

_“I think I love you.”_

Both of your eyes widen at the sudden declaration, but as you turn from looking at the beautiful piece of history in front of you to the handsome man right across and you can’t help but giggle just a little.

“It would be like to fall for a handsome piece of history, huh?” you state softly, as Bucky cups your cheek.

“It would be just like you,” he answers back as the ride slowly comes to a stop.

And walking through where you are allowed to throughout Versailles is like a dream come true, especially when Bucky won’t let go of your hand the entire time.

* * *

And maybe, a few years down the line, you’ll come back to the city – to look a place you didn’t go to the first time with a lock at hand and complete nervousness over the black vet box you had found by mistake in Bucky’s room a few days back.

 _“Mon cherie,”_ it rolls off his tongue easier than the last time, but you can notice that slight quiver in the end. It had taken a long time and a very long road, but you knew him so well.

At that moment, Bucky nervous as hell – because above all else, he was certain that you were the one that held his heart, all thanks to a podcast and an impromptu trip.


End file.
